Single Cup Coffee Maker Reviews

Updated September 2014

If a quick cup of joe is all you crave, employing a one-cup coffee maker could satisfy. Just know some models come with single-serve coffee pods that can be costly and create additional waste. Read on to discover the best single-cup coffee makers as determined by ConsumerSearch editors' analysis of expert and user reviews.

Best large pod coffee maker

Professional testers across the board say the Cuisinart SS-700 Single Service Brewing System by Keurig is the best multi-cup pod coffee maker out there. They praise it for being fast, intuitive and making a great cup of coffee. It's also highly programmable. The large, 10-cup reservoir will easily handle the needs of any family, a small gathering, or a small office. It uses Keurig K-cups, which means that everyone can have their own choice of coffee, tea or other beverage -- both hot and cold -- and hundreds of varieties are available.
See our full review

Best small one-cup coffee maker

This little coffee maker gets a lot of love from reviewers. It makes a good, consistent cup of coffee, as well as tea, cocoa and iced beverages. The Keurig K10 MINI Plus's tiny footprint is particularly popular with those who live alone, college students, and people who are the sole coffee drinkers in their family. To many owners delight, it comes in 12 fun colors.
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Cheap one-cup coffee maker

The Black & Decker DCM18S Brew ‘N Go earns kudos from reviewers for its convenient operation. It's great for commuters, college students, or anyone who just needs the occasional cup to go because it brews directly into an included travel mug. Owners say the coffee stays hot in the insulated mug, and it fits in most cup holders. Best of all for some, it uses ground coffee.
See our full review

Best multi-use single-serve coffee maker

The BUNN My Café MCU is a great choice if you don't want to be just tied to pods. It brews from K-cups, soft pods, tea bags and ground coffee. It also has a dedicated hot water setting. It's a top pick at from two professional testing organizations, and users love its versatility, customizable brew strength, and the hot, delicious coffee it makes.
See our full review

Best pour over coffee dripper

Expert and casual coffee lovers: if you love a highly customizable cup of coffee, look no further than the Clever Coffee Dripper. It's cheap, simple to use, and it makes an amazing cup of coffee. The Clever combines two technologies: Steeping (as with a French press) and brewing through a filter, which eliminates sediment. The result is like having a personal barista right in your kitchen.
See our full review

Best manual, immersion coffee maker

Inspired by the French press style of coffee brewing, the AeroPress Coffee and Espresso maker uses a plunger to push brewed coffee through a filter. Experts and owners say it makes a perfect cup every time with no bitterness or sediment. It's easy to use, endlessly customizable and can be outfitted with reusable filters. It's made of tough, BPA-free plastic and is highly portable.

See a side-by-side comparison of key features, product specs, and prices.

Single cup coffee makers allow variety and customization.

There's a lot to love about single cup coffee makers. Each cup is brewed when it's wanted, so every cup is a fresh cup of coffee. They also give you endless options for different varieties of coffee -- maybe start your morning with a jolt of a bold blend, then make your second cup something a bit mellower. Even better, most one-cup coffee makers can also make hot cocoa, tea, or even instant soups and hot cereals.

There are a few basic types of one-cup coffee makers.

Pod-style coffee makers are the simplest to use.You just purchase boxes of "pods" that are pre-filled with coffee grounds. The pods are inserted into a holder that, when closed, pierces the pod with needles. Hot water then flows through the pod, brewing the coffee into a cup placed under the spout. Some pod coffee makers have a reservoir so you can brew multiple cups before refilling; some need water added before each cup is brewed. Pods come in hundreds of varieties, including cocoas, teas and fruity drinks -- some are intended to be served iced. Pod coffee makers also dispense plain hot water for making instant soups or hot cereals. Some customization is available by adjusting the water quantity, but not with the pods themselves. There are two downsides to pod coffee makers. The first is that the cost per cup of coffee is higher than with ground coffee. The second is the environmental impact -- many pods are not recyclable, others only partially so.

There are a few drip-style, single-cup coffee makers.Theseare not as common as pod-style, single-serve coffee makers, but people who want the convenience of a one-cup coffee maker, yet don't want to use pods like these machines. They tend to cost less, overall, than pod-style coffee makers, but they don't get as good of reviews in general for performance. They also seem to be more plagued with durability issues and there are more complaints of leakage and messes than with pod coffee makers.

Multi-use coffee makers are the most versatile. If you don't want to be tied to pods, but would like the option of using them if you so choose, the single-serve, multi-use coffee maker is worth a look. It can brew coffee drip-style from grounds, or brew from pods, allowing for an even greater variety in coffee flavors. They also enable a higher degree of customization as you can adjust brew strength by using more or fewer grounds, as well as varying the amount of water. These can also make tea, soups and hot cereals.

Many pod coffee makers have the option of purchasing a separate filter for using ground coffee, but, in general, they are widely panned for performance when not using pods.

Manual, pour over coffee drippers are highly customizable.For the true coffee lover who has the patience to wait a few minutes, a pour over coffee dripper is a must-have. They're very low-tech, just pour hot water into a filter and allow it to drip into the cup below. There may be some steeping and pressing involved as well, that's where the customization comes in, but they're really not very hard to use and get raves for making the best coffee -- tastier than a French press, reviewers say, and without the grit. The downside is that its hands on. You have to boil water, measure grounds -- and grind your own, if that's your thing -- pour carefully, and wait several minutes. Sometimes you also have to press or stir. People who just want a quick cup of coffee don't think it's worth the hassle, but these simple coffee makers are becoming increasingly popular with coffee enthusiasts both at home and in coffee shops.

If you're that into making your own coffee, you're probably grinding your own beans as well. In that case, you'll want to see our report on coffee grinders. However, if you still just like brewing a pot of coffee and having it immediately available to your family -- or just for you -- see our report on coffee makers. There, we cover traditional drip coffee makers of all styles and at many sizes and price points.

Finding the best coffee makers

Single-cup coffee makers get a lot of coverage from both expert and owner reviewers, so narrowing down our top picks was pretty easy to do. We pored over the results of professional tests from ConsumerReports.org, Cook's Illustrated, Good Housekeeping and CNET. We also found some roundups that were a bit more casual, but were obviously written by those who know and love their coffee. There are also plenty of in-depth, single reviews, especially of manual coffee makers, and they were very helpful in evaluating performance and ease of use. Last, but definitely not least, we evaluated thousands of owner reviews to see how the experts' choices performed and held up over time in real kitchens. The results are our picks for the best single cup coffee makers, so grab a cup of your favorite joe and enjoy.

Elsewhere in this report:

Best Large Pod Coffee Makers: Super convenient and wildly popular, this type of coffee maker can keep you in java all day or brew individual cups of Joe for a crowd, and there are hundreds of pod varieties available.

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